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Secret Sphere - A Time Never Come
Secret Sphere - A Time Never Come
Elevate Records - 2001
By Rodrigo
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One of the biggest surprises of the year has definitely been the new release by the Italian symphonic speed metal band Secret Sphere. A Time Never Come is their second release and fans of bands like Rhapsody and Labyrinth must check out this band out. Secret Sphere have come out with an album that rivals anything those two veteran bands have done and without a doubt has raised the bar of what is to be expected from this genre.
Secret Sphere boasts the amazing talents of lead guitarist Aldo Lonobile. His playing is both melodic and heavy (he is paired by Paco Gianotti and together they make an excellent guitar team). Without warning he can easily go from catchy melodic hooks to more crunchy and powerful riffs. The song "Oblivion" highlights this point perfectly. It is one of the heaviest songs of the album but yet maintains plenty of melodic elements. The same rings true for the song "Dr. Faustus". This is a very heavy song and the dark themes of the song are reflected in the music. Both songs are two of my favorites of the album but are the most different because the rest of A Time Never Come is pure symphonic speed metal bliss.
The keyboard wizardry of Antonio Agate paired with the superb guitar work of Aldo and Paco make the rest of the songs absolutely perfect. Two amazing songs are "Legend" and "Hamelin". Both are extremely fast, have beautiful melodies and unexpected tempo changes and feature intense keys and guitar trade offs. But if you think these two songs are great then prepare yourself to be blown away by "Under the Flag of Mary Read". Basically, this song is not that much different from "Legend" or "Hamelin" as far as the style goes. But the entire band is just on another level in this song. Everything is tied up by the excellent vocal melodies of Roberto Messina (he definitely rivals Rob Tyrant as the best Italian singer). The singing in the pre-chorus and chorus is truly catchy but his singing in the entire song is superb (as well as in the entire album). This song is not only my favorite from A Time Never Come but it is one of the best songs of the year.
To those people who were disappointed with the last Labyrinth album, the perfect solution for you is to pick up A Time Never Come. Everything that was expected from Sons of Thunder is delivered with so much enthusiasm and energy in a A Time Never Come that it would be a crime for you not to buy and enjoy this album. Secret Sphere is a band to watch out for in the future because no other Italian band could rival them if they continue down this brilliant path.
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